DC Think Tank Wins FOIA Case Against Climate Crusading NY AG

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The Daily Caller cited the recent favoring of CEI in a case between the think-tank and Attorney General of New York, Eric Schneiderman, over the Attorney Geenral refusing to disclose information that conservatives believe reveal a coordinated campaign by Schneiderman and others in a coordinated campaign against global warming dissenters.

New York Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) in a case involving a series of documents conservatives believe could reveal a coordinated campaign against global warming dissenters. Schneiderman has consistently used his state’s Freedom of Information Law to block past requests.

“The Appellate Division is the latest court to reject the attorney general’s bogus excuses for hiding information from the public,” CEI attorney Anna St. John said in a press statement announcing the decision. “We hope this ruling will encourage the attorney general to be more transparent about his office’s activities.”

CEI requested the documents — which could show whether Schneiderman worked with other states or environmental activists to subpoena global warming dissenters — after the Virgin Islands AG in April 2016 hit the think tank with a subpoena for 10 years of emails and donor records.

The think tank has won similar cases against Schneiderman in the past. Acting Supreme Court Justice Henry Zwack ordered Schneiderman in November 2016 to hand over so-called common interest agreements CEI requested in May of that year. The crusading AG tried using the FOIL exemption in that case to no avail. Schneiderman has yet to comply with that court’s order.